Ornette Coleman Wins 2007 Pulitzer

For his recording "Sound Grammar."

NYT:
Mr. Coleman, the 77-year-old jazz saxophonist and composer, won for “Sound Grammar,” a live album by his most recent quartet, recorded in 2005.

Elastic and bracing, with two acoustic basses and much collective improvisation, the music harks back to the 1960s records that made him famous. “I’m tearing and I’m surprised and happy — and I’m glad I’m an American,” he said. “And I’m glad to be a human being who’s a part of making American qualities more eternal.”

OTHER FINALISTS: “Grendel” by Elliot Goldenthal; “Astral Canticle” by Augusta Read Thomas.